It's the penultimate day of Perth's premier carnival on Saturday, which means it's Northerly Stakes Day, the third and final Group One of The Pinnacles.
Run under Weight For Age conditions, the Northerly Stakes (1800m) is the natural progression for the top performers from the Railway Stakes (1600m) a fortnight earlier, and for many years has attracted some of the country's elite milers/middle distance runners.
The other black type event on the thrilling nine-race card at Ascot on Saturday is the Listed G.A Towton Cup (2200m). While it doesn't carry the same prestige as the Northerly, it has a deep-rooted history in WA Racing, with the first running of the race in 1978, two years after the inaugural Northerly Stakes.
For this week's edition of Pinnacles Pointers, we run our eye over the history of the Group 1 history using the advanced Racing & Sports advanced ratings system.
Northerly Stakes (1800m) - $1.5 million
| Last Year's Winner & Rating | Amelia's Jewel - 114 |
| 5yr Avg Winning Rating | 117 |
| Best Winner & Rating (Since 2000) | Niconero ('06,'08), Stratum Star ('16) & Arcadia Queen ('18) - 121 |
As you can see last year's winner and Perth's pin-up filly Amelia's Jewel was slightly below the 5yr average winning rating but that was most likely due to the fact she beat home Ironclad and Steinem, who SP'd 60-1 & 11-1 respectively.
Although pleasing to the eye (and to the pockets of her supporters), AJ's win is many lengths off and pales in comparison to the most impressive winners of the Northerly.
David A Hayes's stable star Niconero was the first winner to crack the elusive 120 mark, going a pound better when downing Scenic Shot by 2.1L. Two years later he was able to repeat the dose when knocking off Gilded Venom and become 1 of 5 to win two editions.
Stratum Star for Darren Weir in 2016 was next to hit the 121, edging out Scales Of Justice (0.1L) in what was one of the most thrilling and tightest finishes of the Northerly.
And finally, on the complete other end of the spectrum, the most visually impressive winner of the feature came two years later when three-year-old Arcadia Queen for G & A Williams made a mess of her rivals to score by 4.5L and deliver William Pike his third success in the race, sporting the cerise and white in all.
*For a more comprehensive overview of the Northerly Stakes and suggested plays, written by one of Racing & Sports' sharp analysts Trent Crebbin, head here!